Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Announces the Release of Harlem Renaissance
Featuring Pianist Marcus Roberts, Marcus Roberts Trio and Modern Jazz
Generation conducted by John Morris Russell 

Available on Streaming Platforms March 13, 2026 

CINCINNATI, OH (February 13, 2026)—The Cincinnati Pops announced the release of its newest recording led by Cincinnati Pops Conductor John Morris Russell, Harlem Renaissance, an homage to one of America’s most important artistic movements and the breadth of jazz styles it has nurtured. The album features piano virtuoso Marcus Roberts in his own arrangement of James P. Johnson’s 1927 piano rhapsody, Yamekraw, based on the music and vibrant culture of Savannah, Georgia’s historically Black neighborhood in the roaring 1920s. In the hands of Marcus Roberts, Yamekraw exists as a living dialogue between Johnson’s original composition and the musical styles that have evolved since. Harlem Renaissance features the jazz tone poem, Harlem by Duke Ellington, an evocative soundscape of Manhattan’s legendary neighborhood. The album also includes the first commercial recording of Carlos Simon’s 2024 composition, Hellfighters’ Blues, inspired by World War I bandleader James Reese Europe’s 1919 recording of W.C. Handy’s Memphis Blues.

“Harlem Renaissance honors extraordinary Black composers and their kindred spirits — painters, poets, authors, sculptors and dancers — who together defined the ethos of 20th century American culture. We present these works not as museum-pieces but part of a continuum of style that continues to evolve a century later,” said John Morris Russell. “The album captures the nuance, power and virtuosity of the Cincinnati Pops, the thrilling and breathtaking improvisations of the Modern Jazz Generation and the sheer brilliance of Marcus Roberts and his trio. It was an absolute joy to perform these concerts live, and a delight to now share it with the world.”

Songs by Kurt Weill and Langston Hughes, Moisés Simons and Cab Calloway round out the album, and feature vocalists Mykal Kilgore and Tatiana Mayfield in orchestral arrangements representing a gamut of jazz styles by Rob Mounsey.

Seven-time Grammy award-winning recording producer and recent inductee into the Resonator Hall of Fame Elaine Martone continues her longstanding relationship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops as producer for Harlem Renaissance. Martone has collaborated with the Orchestra on more than 70 albums (Telarc and Fanfare Cincinnati labels), more than any other orchestra in her oeuvre.  

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Harlem Renaissance full track listing:
 
1. Duke Ellington, arr. Mounsey The Mooche
    featuring Modern Jazz Generation
 
2. Duke Ellington, arr. Henderson Harlem
   featuring Modern Jazz Generation
 
3. Kurt Weill / Langston Hughes “Lonely House” from Street Scene
   featuring Mykal Kilgore, vocalist
 
4. James P. Johnson, arr. Roberts Yamekraw
   featuring Marcus Roberts, piano; Marcus Roberts Trio; Modern Jazz Generation
 
5. Moisés Simons, arr. Mounsey El manisero (“The Peanut Vendor”)
   featuring Tatiana Mayfield, vocalist
 
6. Duke Ellington, trans. Gould Sophisticated Lady
 
7. W.C. Handy, arr. Mounsey St. Louis Blues
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8. Carlos Simon Hellfighters’ Blues
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9. Cab Calloway, arr. Mounsey Are You Hep to the Jive? (Live)
   featuring Mykal Kilgore, vocalist

Harlem Renaissance extends the Pops’ prolific recording legacy, which includes more than 100 commercial recordings that have sold millions of copies worldwide. Harlem Renaissance is the eighth Pops album led by Russell and continues a succession of albums that explore and celebrate the essence of American musical style. In 2015, the Pops released American Originals, which received widespread acclaim for its reimagining of 19th century Americana, followed by the release of American Originals: 1918, a tribute to the birth of the Jazz Age, which received a Grammy Award nomination for “Best Classical Compendium” at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Other Pops albums with Russell include Home for the Holidays (2012), Superheroes! (2013), Carnival of the Animals (2014), Voyage (2019) and Joy! (2023).

Listeners can hear select tracks on the album beginning February 13 with Ellington’s Sophisticated Lady, February 20 with Ellington’s The Mooche and February 27 with W.C. Handy St. Louis Blues. The entire Harlem Renaissance album will be available on all streaming platforms beginning March 13.

Harlem Renaissance is generously supported by gifts from Kelly Dehan & Rick Staudigel, Kathy Grote, Joan Wilson, Joe & Patricia Baker and an anonymous donor. 

Full Album Credits

Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
John Morris Russell conductor
Marcus Roberts piano
Marcus Roberts Trio
  Marcus Roberts, piano; Jason Marsalis, drums; Marty Jaffe, upright bass
Modern Jazz Generation, led by Marcus Roberts
  Marty Jaffe, upright bass; Jason Marsalis, drums; Joe Goldberg, tenor saxophone & clarinet (Yamekraw); Tissa Khosla, baritone saxophone; Boyce Griffith, alto saxophone; Tim Blackmon, trumpet; Jianni Lazaga, trumpet; Etienne Charles, trumpet; Rashaan Salaam, trombone
Mykal Kilgore vocalist
Tatiana Mayfield vocalist

?Recorded at Cincinnati Music Hall on March 21–23, 2025.
Recording Producer: Elaine Martone, Sonarc Music
Producer for Fanfare Cincinnati: Sam Strater
Mixing & Mastering Engineer, Editor and Recording Engineer: Robert Friedrich, Five/Four Productions, LLC
Editing and Assistant Engineer: Ian Dobie, Five/Four Productions, LLC
Assistant Engineer: Josh Frey, Five/Four Productions, LLC
Artwork: Nancey B. Price 
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Biographies: John Morris Russell, Marcus Roberts, Marcus Roberts Trio, Modern Jazz Generation, Mykal Kilgore, Tatiana Mayfield and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra 

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Harlem Renaissance is generously supported by gifts from Kelly Dehan & Rick Staudigel, Kathy Grote, Joan
Wilson, Joe & Patricia Baker and an anonymous donor.

The Cincinnati Pops gratefully acknowledges support from:
Cincinnati Pops Season Presenter 
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Annual Support

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